Mark 12:34

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Mark 12:1-44

In this parable of the vineyard the Lord very graphically sketched for those people their own national history, and condemned them thereby. "They perceived that He spake the parable against them." These words would seem to intimate that the rejection of the Saviour by these rulers of the people was more a sin against light than we sometimes imagine. They had a clear comprehension of what He meant, but they set their hearts and wills against Him. A coalition of religion and politics, Pharisees... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - Mark 12:34

NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM‘And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.’ Mark 12:34 The deepest interest must ever attach to those utterances of Christ, in which He has pronounced upon the moral and spiritual state of those who came before Him, and fixed their true standing in the sight of God. I. The Kingdom.—Our Lord speaks of that Kingdom as a definite reality. It is a distinct sphere or region with a frontier line marking it off... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 12:1-44

Jesus Begins His Final Journey to Jerusalem On The Road To The Cross and Spends Much Time in Teaching His Disciples And Disputing With His Enemies In Readiness For That Event, For He Is Giving His Life As A Ransom For Many (9:33-12:44). Having returned to Capernaum Jesus now has His face set towards Jerusalem, and in Mark 9:33-50 He will lay the foundation by pointing out the fact that all must look to and respond to His Name, and the dangers inherent in not doing so. Then He will advance into... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 12:13-44

Jesus Deals With The Final Challenges With Which The Jews Seek To Entrap Him (12:13-44). In this last part of Section 4 Jesus is faced with attempts to entrap and discredit Him. They come from various sources, the Pharisees and Herodians, the Sadducees, and a Scribe. In each case He emerges having confounded His adversaries. The picture is of Jesus against the establishment, because the establishment have all gone astray. Analysis. a The question of payment of tribute, and the need to give... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 12:28-34

The Approving Pharisee and The Law of Love (12:28-34). The idea that God is the living God now leads on to an incident which demonstrates that at least one Rabbi was prepared to give genuine credit to Jesus and even to learn from Him. It showed that not all Rabbis were necessarily in the same mould (compare Acts 5:34 on). Matthew suggests that he was sent by a group of Pharisees who had come together to see if they could do better than the Sadducees (Matthew 22:34). He would not be the first... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 12:34

‘And no man after that dared ask him any question,’ The challenges to Jesus now ceased. His replies had floored His enemies. They recognised that all that they would do by asking questions was discomfort themselves even more, vindicate Jesus’ teaching and set the crowds more against them. Now it will be Jesus’ turn to ask the awkward questions. read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-Nahum : . The Greatest Commandment.— This further question does not seem to be put in a spirit of hostility. The scribe may have been a Pharisee who admired the answer Jesus had given to the Sadducees. There was no real doubt as to the greater commandment. The Shema ( Deuteronomy 6:4 f.) was repeated daily by the Jews. It was the foundation-text of their monotheism, which was “ not a speculative theory but a practical conviction” (pp. 618f.). Jesus adds to it Leviticus 19:18. Love... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Mark 12:28-34

See the notes on "Matthew 22:35", and following verses to Matthew 22:40, where whatsoever Mark here hath is opened. read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Mark 12:28-34

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTESMark 12:28. The scribe’s question was—Of what nature is the first commandment of all? Has it to do, that is, with Sabbath observance, or with circumcision, or with sacrificial rites—or what?Mark 12:30. Note the prep. ἐξ, before “heart,” “soul,” “mind,” “strength.” The whole of man’s complex being is to go out in love to God. “The measure of our love to God is to love Him without measure.”Mark 12:32. Finely (answered)! Teacher, Thou hast spoken from (the standpoint... read more

William Nicoll

Sermon Bible Commentary - Mark 12:34

Mark 12:34 Nearness to the Kingdom of God. Consider: I. In what this nearness consists. The current idea is that we are not far from the kingdom of God if we stand in any kind of touch or connection with it. But nearness to the kingdom of God implies more than this; it implies an inward connection, a motion of the heart, a drawing of the soul towards it. When indifference to Christ, the Sovereign of this kingdom, or to God Himself, still rules in any human heart, it were indeed unfitting to... read more

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